


Professor Overshare and Professor Stoneface

by lululou



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Kane Chronicles - Rick Riordan
Genre: Adulthood, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Mortal, College, F/M, Fluff, One Shot, Opposites Attract, Professor!Annabeth, Professor!Percy, percabeth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-10
Updated: 2020-07-10
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:48:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25174144
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lululou/pseuds/lululou
Summary: Sadie met with two very different professors back-to-back. It's hard for her to adjust from one lighthearted teacher to another serious advisor. Little does she know about their unexpected relationship to each other.
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson
Comments: 11
Kudos: 292





	Professor Overshare and Professor Stoneface

Sadie experienced whiplash every Tuesday and Thursday, between the end of her class at 12:30PM and her 12:35PM advisor meeting.  
  
“So that’s why rocky shores tend to have lulling water, while sandy beaches have more aggressive waves for surfing. Oh, that’s a picture of the beach from my mom’s house! My kids love visiting her there out in Montauk. As you can see, sandy shore, huge waves. That’s why I always have to lifeguard. My daughter Zoe loves swimming and my wife really encourages her athleticism, so ya know. Anyways, I think my time’s up. Remember that your paper’s due next week, and I have office hours from 4-5pm on Tuesdays. Unless I have to be home early to pick up my kids, but I’ll email if I have to cancel! Have a good day, everyone!”  
  
And so she spent an hour listening to Professor Jackson’s lectures. Half of it was interesting information on marine biology, and the other half was ramblings on his personal life. Sadie knew everything about his wife, his two children, his mother and half-sister, his dog... She was convinced one day he would write out his social security number on the board mixed in with notes about thermoclines. The only thing he hadn’t slipped was the name of his wife. Then she would be ready to write his biography.  
  
But she never had time to linger. Sadie had five minutes to run across campus to the history building, where her advisor’s office was. She sat, trying not to pant or fidget, and was met with utter and perfect professionalism. Professor Chase did nothing but address relevant historical topics and ask difficult questions. After the relaxing environment of Professor Jackson’s lecture hall, she felt like she had to crack a couple jokes, but Professor Chase rarely responded with anything past a polite smile. Perfect posture, neat files, computer screen poised with all the necessary resources. She was a dream-come-true for any student needing guidance. Professor Chase was the most prestigious thesis advisor at the college. Sadie was looking into Egyptology for grad school; even though Professor Chase specialized in the history of architecture, Sadie couldn’t give up the chance to learn from her. After two years, Sadie had honed her critical thinking and knowledge of world history beyond what she’d imagined possible, but still felt very distant from the academic who was supposed to write her a shining letter of recommendation.  
  
“So. It appears you’re still two hundred and sixteen words behind in your recent thesis draft.”  
  
Sadie nodded nervously. “I was going to start addressing another argument, but I couldn’t finish a cohesive explanation in time. So I thought I would leave it a little short instead of leaving some hangnail writing, ya know?” She started to make finger guns like the ones Professor Jackson did today. She flushed and quickly pretended to smooth out her shirt once she saw Professor Chase’s face.  
  
“I understand. Do you believe you’ll reach the required word count for next week despite this setback?”  
  
“Yes, professor.”  
  
“I also wanted to address your third citation. You’re missing the second author in the works cited and I read the piece and I don’t think it’s appropriate to include here. Did you fully understand the article?”  
  
And so Sadie tackled a new level of academic rigor and shook off the weird feeling that these two professors could be at the same level at the same school, entirely different.  
\------  
Here’s the thing: Sadie was a history major, with a focus on Egyptian culture and language. She was taking Introduction to Marine Biology to fulfill a graduation requirement. Even though the class was pretty chill, there was still an exam around the corner and she needed to catch up with her peers, who already had background in biology or environmental science. That’s how she found herself in Professor Jackson’s Tuesday office hours.  
  
And how she found herself with a 6-year-old in the chair across from her, interrupting her questions with grabs for the computer mouse and whines over being hungry. A 4-year-old occupied Professor Jackson’s lap, but he stayed quiet and content with a picture book and his thumb in his mouth.  
  
Yes, she knew their exact ages. And their names, Zoe and Luke. And a lot of details about their interests, accomplishments, and family. They were Professor Jackson’s kids.  
  
“Sorry about this! School’s off today for teacher conferences but the daycare ran into a bit of a crisis and my mom’s out of town so there was no one to watch them. So, remember, the halocline is really important for animals sensitive to salt leve–Zoe, no, put that down–what was I saying? Oh yea, the salt levels because if the animal’s body can’t handle it, it’ll die. Do you remember–Hm? Oh, Luke, that word is “cour-a-geous”, it means brave. Like mommy!–Right, anyways, do you remember how fish deal with salt to maintain osmotic homeostasis?”  
  
Sadie vaguely remembered, and she wasn’t dumb by any means, but this was such a chaotic environment when compared to the sterile rooms she was usually quizzed by Professor Chase. She thought hard about that day and the logic of the process. “Um, water follows salt, and so… fish will swallow salt water… um…” She was distracted by Zoe running past her towards the door, and so was Professor Jackson, evidently. He quickly stood up, setting his son back down on the chair, before following Zoe, “No, Zoe, you can’t just run around this building! We’ve talked about-oh! You’re here!”  
  
Sadie turned around at the sound of heels on tile and sudden silence from everyone. Her jaw went slack when she saw Professor Chase holding Zoe on her hip, and Professor Jackson leaning down to kiss her cheek.  
\-----  
“Oh, you’re meeting with Sadie now. She’s one of my favorite advisees.”  
  
“You know Sadie?! It’s not fair that you don’t talk about your students at home, Annabeth.”  
  
“Get over it, Seaweed Brain. We’re bound to have students overlap. Anyways, I’m gonna head home with the kids. Will you be long?”  
  
“Nah, I’ll be done in an hour, max.”  
  
“Alright, I’ll get dinner started then. Don’t look at me like that, I can cook too!”  
  
Professor Jackson was clearly skeptical, but still collected Luke and their childrens’ backpacks. Professor Chase, with her usual elegance, convinced Zoe to walk and shifted Luke onto her hip while managing both schoolbags flawlessly. They said their goodbyes and his family left, leaving Professor Jackson with a flabbergasted Sadie.  
  
“You’re married to Professor Chase.”  
  
“Yea, you didn’t know that?”  
  
“Your wife. That you talk about in class. That wife. Is _Professor Chase_.”  
  
Professor Jackson chuckled. “Yea. I don’t know why so many people are surprised to learn that. I describe her to a T, I mean, I’ve known her forever.”  
  
Sadie sat there comparing what she knew about Professor Jackson’s “wife” and Professor Chase, now knowing that they were the same person. She nodded slowly, thinking about the time he spent praising his wife's innovation, her big projects, complaining about her travels that left him home alone. It did make sense, but “history” and “architecture” weren’t mentioned and no one in their right mind would’ve connected the dots.  
  
“I can’t believe this.”  
  
“Hey, don’t blame me! She didn’t tell me she was your advisor either!”  
  
So Sadie tried to bring her mind back to fish and water conditions and homeostasis, but left the office hour still very distracted. By new definitions of what a strong successful woman was. By new evidence for the theory that “opposites attract”. By a lovely family that she never properly pictured before. By how she was going to face Professor Chase knowing so much information that she hadn’t disclosed herself.  
  
Wait.  
  
Did Professor Chase say she was _one of her favorites?!_

  


**Author's Note:**

> Hi! Thanks for reading! It's a short little story, but please leave feedback, comments, constructive criticism if you have time. This story may or may not be based off actual professors that I had... if you ever want to take STEM or #STEMINISM, let me know!


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